Pirate Kingship-Chapter 609 - 436: As long as there is kindling, the fire will never go out!_2

Before Teris's whip could touch the ancient Crown in his hands, he swiftly placed it upon his own head.

WHOOSH—!

A cold and sinister gale, mixed with pale blue ghost flames, rose from the Mummy of the old King, blowing fiercely out of every orifice in its body. Carrying a semi-transparent, ethereal Crystal Skull, the gale rushed into the body of the Second Prince [Playboy].

The latter, a Fourth Order Mythical Creature, instinctively resisted. His Spirituality flared in defense, causing his body to erupt with a massive ring of golden fire. But against that piercingly cold wind, he had no power to resist whatsoever. In an instant, the opponent had invaded his body, easily taking over this flesh linked by blood, and effortlessly suppressed the Second Prince's consciousness.

Byron, who had intentionally slowed his pace and not rushed to the middle level, had already witnessed this entire scene with his Divine Sight.

Was the true mastermind behind this the old King Huayna Capac, who should have died long ago? The Second Prince went down just like that?

Chilled by the thought, Byron recalled a term that had come to mind earlier when he heard Atahualpa describe the ritual: 'Playing God.'

During the "Coronation Ceremony at the Holy Lake," those Divine Descendants would once again endure the hardships faced by the Founder, inadvertently completing 'Playing God.' Injuries, falling behind, Death, being Cursed... these were all potential Fates for the brothers, but only one could reach the end first. By reaching this point, the trialist would, in effect, passively complete part of an ancient ritual, bringing them infinitely close to the Founder. Only then, by donning a Sun Crown blessed by the Sun God, could one become the new King of the nation and the heir to the God.

But precisely because they were Descendants of the Sun God and adhered to the tradition of close-kin marriage, their bloodline barely changing over hundreds of years, coupled with the 'Playing God' ceremony drawing them infinitely close to their ancestors, their homogeneity significantly increased. When an ancestor higher up in the family tree wished to do something to their descendants, the latter had almost no power to resist. Not to mention a Second Prince nearly drained by a Succubus—even if the eldest, the third, and the fourth were all bound together, their Fate would not be any better.

However, if one cannot correctly chant the epic corresponding to the 13th skull... The effect of the 'Goddess of Suicide' would only be to open the portals at the Edge of the World, sheltering the Undead of suicide victims, Anchoring them between life and death, maintaining their sanity, and allowing them to exist in the Material World like Nature Spirits. It would not enable Resurrection, nor could it transform ordinary Undead into Totem Gods. So what was this Former King, who had not achieved Ascension to Godhood before his lifespan was expended, doing by lingering in the Mortal World with the help of the Crystal Skull and secretly collecting the Life Essence of each son after their Death?

Byron didn't have to wait long for an answer; the other party quickly provided one.

Huayna Capac, after successfully occupying his son Vascar Kapak's body using his own Crown, nimbly dodged the whip lashing from behind. He immediately grabbed the new Crown from the hands of his corpse and, with a slight exertion of force, melted it into a pool of fiery gold liquid. He had completely destroyed the golden crown symbolizing the next generation's Authority.

Then he twisted his neck, adjusting to the new body, and muttered expressionlessly:

"Vascar indulged in the pleasures of women for years, not for Fertility but solely for pleasure. I warned him many times, but he wouldn't listen. Until he brought ruination upon this body, one of several I had prepared. I was careless as well; I never expected the one to reach this stage would be you, the playboy, the frivolous one.

However, the body is secondary to me now. Through this Resurrection, I have fully grasped my Immortal Stairway. Once I complete the final Apotheosis Ritual, my body will naturally be thoroughly reformed. The boundary between life and death will be utterly broken, and I will transform from an Undead lingering between life and death into an Immortal Fifth-Order Demigod!"

At this time, the Nobility's Parliament outside the Secret Realm was thrown into a panic by this shocking turn of events.

"What's going on? The Former King has retained his consciousness and even usurped the heir's body! What about the ritual? Come up with a solution! Quickly, think of something!"

"This is Profane, Your Majesty, the Former King! Please stop at once!"

"This is the first time in the fourteen trials of Ascension to Godhood since the founding of our kingdom! How dare you desecrate such a sacred ritual..."

The old King Huayna Capac looked up at the Nobility's Parliament outside the Secret Realm, which was in utter chaos yet powerless, and a stiff smile formed on his lips.

"Heh, the fairness of the Sun Crown coronation ceremony by the Holy Lake is still quite commendable. Aside from the Mummy of the Former King in the Secret Realm, there were only a group of trial participants; outsiders had no way to intervene. The only sign that the ritual has ended is when a trial participant undergoes 'Playing God' and wears the new Crown bestowed by the Sun God at the portal to the Heavens. Now, without the Crown, no one can escape. Only after I successfully achieve Ascension to Godhood can I enter the upper world directly along the Cloud Top Giant of the Sacred Tree. This plan is simply perfect!"

With a wave of his hand, his own desiccated Mummy collapsed instantly. A brilliant, translucent golden powder, like the last embers in a furnace, rushed into the young body.

BOOM!

As if charcoal powder had been blown into a furnace, the new body was engulfed in a golden Blaze. Within the hottest outer parts of this Blaze, a hint of scorching white could faintly be seen.

As is well known, the temperature of flames and magma can generally be distinguished by their color. Visible red magma is ≥475°C. Dark red magma is 550-625°C. Bright red magma is ≥700°C. Orange magma is ≥900°C. Golden magma is ≥1090°C. White magma is ≥1150°C.

The transition from golden to white indicated a significant increase in temperature.

At the same time, the old King turned to face the other trial participants who were successively reaching the wooden platform of the middle world. One dazzling ribbon after another extended from his fiercely burning body, resembling fiery whips that were savagely lashed out. This was the Secret Arcane Art, Scavenger's Touch, that he had studied in his lifetime.

"Children, I am going to teach you one last lesson. As long as there is Firewood, the Fire will never go out! Please pass all the Firewood and Fire in your bodies to me, and help your father reach higher toward Divinity."

A Third Order Prince, who had surpassed Byron to reach the middle tier, was suddenly pierced through the chest by one of the ribbons. In the flicker of light and shadow, the Material of his body was drained in the blink of an eye, leaving behind nothing but ash floating down from the Sacred Tree.

However, the Blaze on the old King's own body grew brighter, exuding from within a youthful vigor that resembled the rising Sun in the early morning. If one were to choose an accurate word to describe his current state, it would be a Sun that had accidentally fallen from the Sky, now 'ascending' again! Bit by bit, he was returning to that supremely radiant position that rightfully belonged to him.

But before he could use his overwhelming Rank to absorb a second Prince, Teris, half-crazed from being outmaneuvered once more, had already flung herself in front of him. She wielded her whip and unleashed an Agony Whip targeted at the soul:

"Vaskar is mine! Whoever you are, get out of his body immediately!"

Only at this moment did she realize that Byron wasn't the only one who had stolen her Panacea.